Second-hand time travel: Liu Bei, the big-eared bandit

Chapter 344 Amidst the Lines
Just as Prince Liu Chong of Chen raised the banner of "Grand General Who Assists in Governance," the various counties of Yanzhou rose up in response within the first half month. But after half a month...

Bao Xin in Shanyang, Zhang Miao in Chenliu, and Yuan Yi in Jiyin all changed their banners to "General Who Conquers the East, Cao Cao" and became Cao Cao's subordinates.

In a short period of time, the surrounding counties of Chen, where King Liu Chong of Chen resided, went from "all following suit" to being encircled by Yanzhou...

Moreover, Bao Xin, Zhang Miao, Yuan Yi, and others all sent their sons to Cao Cao.

Yingchuan, which had been relatively quiet until now, readily paid its taxes to Cao Cao. The governor of Yingchuan, Yin Xiu, requested to resign. The prominent Zhong family of Changshe welcomed Cao Cao to garrison Xu County and earnestly requested that Cao Cao temporarily assume the post of governor of Yingchuan.

Chen Gong, a renowned scholar from Dongjun, Zhong Yao, a renowned scholar from Yingchuan, and Mao Jie, a renowned scholar from Chenliu, all became Cao Cao's advisors, but not in the general's mansion, but in the governor's office of Yanzhou.

Chen Gong was appointed as the Chief Administrator, Zhong Yao as the Chief Clerk, and Mao Jie as the Chief Clerk.

Cheng Yu was transferred to the position of Prefectural Governor of Yanzhou.

Cao Cao recovered all the counties of Yan Province as if he had won the lottery, and sent reports to Linzi from all the counties praising their "loyalty and bravery in serving the country" and requesting the court to forgive Bao Xin and others for their previous collusion with Yuan Shao.

Furthermore, Cao Cao did not reassign any other officials, but instead temporarily appointed Zhang Miao as the governor of Chenliu, Yuan Yi as the governor of Jiyin, and Bao Xin as the governor of Shanyang, without utilizing the troops of these individuals.

Cao Cao's forces have now completely surrounded the State of Chen.

However, Cao Cao did not attack the State of Chen.

It wasn't that they couldn't defeat him, but rather that Chen Gong persuaded Cao Cao not to attack and destroy Liu Chong.

"Lord Cao, when the birds are all gone, the good bow is put away... General, you now command tens of thousands of troops, will the court be wary of you?"

Chen Gong advised, "With Liu Chong as a common enemy in Chen, the people of Yanzhou will be united in their support of you, General, and the court will not mobilize you. But what will happen to the court if Liu Chong is gone?"

Cao Cao thought about it and felt that it was indeed true. If it weren't for Prince Chen, Liu Chong, how could he have gathered tens of thousands of troops from various counties?
Liu Bei would definitely be wary...

If Liu Chong were gone, and Qingzhou were no longer surrounded by openly hostile enemies, then who would Liu Bei deal with?
Cao Cao knew that Liu Bei would inevitably continue to weaken the powerful clans, and Yanzhou was the place where the most powerful clans in the land were concentrated.

Now, the Yanzhou powerhouse has its backers.

This was the first time Cao Cao had received substantial support from a large number of truly prestigious and influential families.

This kind of support is really great...

Originally, Cao Cao was troubled by Liu Chong, the Prince of Chen, but in the blink of an eye, he had everything he wanted...

Currently, Cao Cao controls the southern part of Yan Province and the northern part of Yu Province, which is also the region where the most famous scholars in the land are concentrated.

The participation of renowned scholars from various prefectures brought Cao Cao countless conveniences. Whether it was tax collection, logistics, or daily government affairs, there was no situation where he could not complete his tasks.

With their considerable power and influence, and their large numbers of followers, it was naturally easy for them to get things done.

Everyone has selfish motives, and Cao Cao was no exception.

However, Cao Cao currently has no intention of opposing Liu Bei, and his memorial to the throne is extremely respectful, after all, he cannot abandon his own father and only son.

After stabilizing the situation, Cao Cao collected the taxes owed by various counties and ordered an investigation of the land in each county. He also required that powerful families not increase land rents by more than 60%, and that officials at all levels not arbitrarily impose additional taxes.

At Mao Jie's suggestion, Cao Cao set up military settlements in Qiao County, Shanyang, Jiyin and other places. However, Cao Cao's military settlements were different from Liu Bei's. He simply set aside a piece of land and let Bao Xin and his troops farm the land on their own. The soldiers were the tenants and Bao Xin and his comrades were the landlords.

Liu Bei's system of military farming was essentially state-owned land. Soldiers of all ranks would receive a small amount of private property, but would manage a large amount of public land. In reality, the soldiers were the administrators, while the tenant farmers were mostly displaced peasants—a significant difference.

But there was no other way; Cao Cao could only resort to this brutal method at the moment. His troops, unlike Liu Bei's, did not have ten years of accumulated military experience.

Xiahou Dun remained stationed in Pingyu, Runan, where he cultivated land and recruited soldiers on the original land of the Xu family. All of Cao Cao's generals also became military landowners.

……

mid-October.

News from various prefectures reached Linzi.

"My lord, Cao Mengde has submitted a memorial requesting the pardon of Bao Xin, Zhang Miao, and others. How should this matter be handled?"

Jia Xu, who is currently in charge of official intelligence, immediately came to discuss the matter with Liu Bei after learning about the situation in Yanzhou.

"...Let Cao Cao handle it as he sees fit; there's no need to create unnecessary trouble..."

Liu Bei decided to accept the matter and then asked Yuan Shu, "Has Yuan Shu already entered Nanyang?"

"That is indeed the case. Yuan Shu, Sun Jian, and others may be plotting to seize Jingzhou at this time." Jia Xu nodded and said, "The underworld soldiers reported that Yang Xu, the governor of Nanyang, may have been killed by Sun Jian, but it is impossible to verify."

"No need for proof, it must be Sun Jian... What a pity for such a good official, Sun Jian must be eliminated..."

Liu Bei drew a circle around Nanyang on the map with a charcoal pencil: "Any news from Dong Zhuo's side? Where is Dong Bai?"

"Dong Bai left Mei County long ago, but he has been stationed in Luoyang ever since..."

Jia Xu shook his head and smiled as he spoke: "Taishi Ci has been keeping an eye on Dong Cheng in Luoyang. Dong Cheng is making connections everywhere, probably trying to sow discord between our lord and Dong Zhuo."

"Yes, how could Empress Dowager Dong allow Dong Zhuo to marry His Majesty directly... It seems Dong Zhuo has also thought of this."

Liu Bei sighed: "When the emperor toured Mount Tai on the winter solstice, Dong Zhuo must have personally escorted Dong Bai, which is why he has been staying in Luoyang... Let Taishi Ci take action. Since Yuan Shu is in Nanyang, it's a good opportunity to let Dong Zhuo deal with Yuan Shu and Sun Jian."

Jia Xu had previously said that Dong Bai was spoiled, so how could Liu Bei really make her his empress?
Liu Bei didn't even tell Liu Xie about this, because both Liu Bei and Jia Xu knew very well that Dong Bai would not normally be made empress.

Because Empress Dowager Dong would never agree to it under any circumstances.

Once Dong Bai becomes empress, the biggest losers will be Empress Dowager Dong and Dong Cheng, as Empress Dowager Dong will lose her greatest support.

As long as the Empress Dowager disagrees, there's nothing anyone can do, since she is Liu Xie's grandmother.

Even if Empress Dowager Dong were gone and no one could stop him, Liu Xie would not be able to establish an empress in the short term—even the emperor has the obligation to observe filial piety, and Liu Xie's filial piety towards his father had not yet ended.

Liu Bei appeared to be extremely supportive of this matter in front of Dong Zhuo, simply to appease Dong Zhuo, because as long as Liu Bei did not object, it would be easy for Dong Zhuo to determine whether he was friend or foe.

Dong Bai left early, but then stayed in Luoyang. Clearly, someone close to Dong Zhuo had thought of this problem and didn't let Dong Bai come to Qingzhou in advance.

Sending Taishi Ci and the underworld soldiers to Luoyang ahead of time was not because they foresaw Dong Bai's incident, but rather to gather intelligence in a timely manner or to preemptively create some incidents to prevent the enemy from committing crimes.

……

Luoyang.

Dong Cheng was at home discussing matters with someone.

"...Liu Bei, under the guise of the imperial court, issued an order to collect overdue taxes, causing the people to flee from the officials, turning the world upside down. Now the world is in turmoil, and another great disaster is bound to follow..."

The speaker was Zhong Ji, the Chamberlain.

"Yes, how can a lowly commoner dare to challenge a prefect... Liu Bei has wreaked havoc on the world and is truly a traitor to the Han! It is hateful that this villain is now so powerful, with treacherous people and bandits from all over the country joining his cause. It is truly hateful..."

Dong Cheng has a rather righteous and awe-inspiring air about him.

In fact, Dong Cheng is currently just a commoner; in a strict sense, he is also considered a lowly person—a criminal.

Wang Fu was Dong Cheng's subordinate. After Wang Fu plotted a rebellion in Linzi, Liu Bei ordered Luoyang to arrest Dong Cheng.

However, Luoyang did not arrest him, but only gave the explanation of "no evidence found". Then, Dong Cheng was dismissed from his post on charges of "ineffective supervision", which was nominally considered a punishment.

"Nowadays, the only one who can rival Liu Bei is Dong Sikong."

Wu Shuo, a court advisor, said, "But the Minister of Works currently has no intention of being an enemy of Liu Bei. What can we do?"

"Then we must force Sikong to become an enemy of Liu Bei..."

Dong Chengchao and his companion bowed and said, "The Minister of Works has a granddaughter named Dong Bai, who is currently in Luoyang... The Emperor will be inspecting Mount Tai during the Winter Solstice, and the Minister of Works intends to have Dong Bai serve him. We also wish to pay our respects to the Emperor, and may we accompany him..."

"To kidnap Dong Bai and use him to coerce the Minister of Works?"

Zhong Ji shook his head repeatedly: "But killing is easy, kidnapping is difficult, and besides..."

"Either kidnap Dong Bai, or kill Dong Bai, as long as Dong Bai dies in Liu Bei's territory..."

Dong Cheng gestured towards his neck with his hand.

"Truly shameless..."

Just then, the door was suddenly opened from the outside, and a burly man wearing a ghost mask and carrying a knife slowly entered: "Is this the kind of thing you can only do—harm children?"

(End of this chapter)